Coyu went to New York and hung out at a cat cafe

His love for the four-legged creatures goes beyond his cat puns and label name though. It is a deeply ingrained love that led to the creation of Suara Foundation, a nonprofit arm of his label that is dedicated to cat adoption and animal rights issues. Four Over Four had the opportunity to bring Coyu to Koneko Cafe, the well-known Japanese cat café on the Lower East Side.

All the cats you see are available for adoption through Koneko Cafe, located at 26 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002. The interview in its entirety can be seen below, followed by a complete transcript and links to get involved:

How did your love affair with cats begin?

My girlfriend is a feline veterinarian, and I was always more of a dog person before I met her. I fell in love with cats immediately after meeting her. Cats are my animal soul mate – I think I have a greater connection with them than usual animals.

How did cats come to be associated with Suara?

All of our covers, the artworks of our releases, are hand painted cat faces.

Why?

Well, I thought it could be fun. Why not? After our initial decision, we decided to do the t-shirts and to also help them because they give us so much. I felt like I had to bring them back something.

What is the Suara Foundation? What does it do?

It’s pretty easy, we just try to help as many cats as we can. Especially in Barcelona, where we are based. My girlfriend is the feline veterinarian, so I’m pretty much just the image of the foundation. She does all the physical work.

We also try to show to the people what a cat is. Some people just don’t really know. They don’t know how to treat them, how to handle them. They think cats are just like dogs, but they’re very, very different. So we try to show to the world what a cat really is.

What has been your best experience volunteering with cats?

That’s hard. I don’t have a favorite moment or a favorite cat. It’s always great and fulfilling to help a cat, to find them a home because homeless cats lead hard lives. People see street cats and think, “Yeah, it’s a cat. It’s fine in the street,” but they’re not fine. Cats can live up to 20-25 years if they have a home. The average time a cat lives on the street is three or four years. They have a much better quality of life when they are happily homed.

How can people get involved with Suara Foundation?

We have our website www.suarafoundation.com. We’re very active on social media especially Instagram and Facebook. If you are around Barcelona, we have our own shelter, which is planned to open in a few weeks.

What do you have most in common with cats?

I love people. I think I’m a social guy. I’m not a social guy 100% of the time though. That’s definitely something I have in common with cats. Cats can be super affectionate and loving or they can be a bitch so… laughs – I think I can be lovely and a bitch at the same time too.

What do you have least in common with cats?

I don’t like the food that they eat.

Here’s his mixmag set from later in the evening:

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